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William Johnson's View Of The Smarth Brahmins Culture

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William Johnson takes this photograph to visually reflect the different status and life styles of Indians in the mid 1800s. He uses the contradictory paring of a minimal background and elaborate foreground to represent the Smarth Brahmins’ culture. The fact that he photographs these two men behind what seems to be a white wall and sitting on a thing covering shows the simple, religious aspect of Smarth tradition. These Brahmins choose one of the five deities to be the central focus and the other four surround that deity. This simplicity in how they practice their religion coincides with the simplicity of the background. Furthermore, Johnson made the two Brahmins the center of the photo that shows how they centralize one deity in their worship.
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